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A negro man named Murphy Harshaw, who lived in Cherokee county, was brutally murdered several days ago, by persons of his own color, who suspected him of being a witch, and were laboring under the painful delusion that they had been "bewitched" by him. In their confession, the murderers, who have been arrested, say that they were advised by a negro doctor that in order to be relieved from the witchery of Murphy, they must cut his throat and bury him in mud, which they accordingly did.
# EDITORIAL INKLINGS.
## The California Election.
On Wednesday of last week, there was an election in California for Governor, members of Congress and of the Legislature, and also upon the question of calling a convention to amend the Constitution of the State. There were three candidates for Governor, viz: T. G. Phelps, Republican; William Irwin, Democrat; and John Bidwell, Independent. The vote of the State, as far as heard from, gives Irwin 43,000, Phelps 25,000, and Bidwell 18,000. The Democrats elect three Congressmen, and the fourth one is in doubt, while they also have a plurality in the Legislature, and probably a majority over both the Independents and the Republicans.
## An Important Capture.
On the 24th of July last, the passenger train of the Air-Line Railroad, when about three miles from Senaca City, was thrown off the track by means of a rail placed thereon, fatally injuring the engineer and wrecking the engine and several cars. The railroad company at once secured the services of Captain Alley, the Spartanburg detective, to ferret out the perpetrators of the deed. This he successfully accomplished in the following manner, as narrated by the Greenville News:
The first move of Capt. Alley was to send a "French gentleman" down on the train, and at Senaca he involved himself in a row with the conductor, and was severely beaten and put off the train. The beating was no sham; it was genuine, as the "French gentleman's" appearance to-day will testify. He muttered vengeance, but went to work at Senaca, keeping in almost daily communication with Capt. Alley. By Wednesday, sufficient evidence was obtained to convict J. N. Smith, a discharged section master at Senaca, and a man named Ranther, a former section hand, of the horrid crime. They were both arrested before they had any suspicion that they were shadowed. After the arrest, Ranther made a confession, giving all the details of the transaction. Revenge was the motive actuating Smith, who planned the plot. Outside the confession, Capt. Alley was in possession of ample testimony to convict.
## The Bank of Mecklenburg.
The assignee's statement of the condition of the Bank of Mecklenburg at the time the assignment was made, shows the liabilities of that institution to be $209,179.19, with assets amounting to $29,421.29. This showing renders it probable that creditors will receive nearly fourteen per cent. of their claims. Speaking of the management of this bank, the Charlotte Observer indulges the following remarks:
Creditors have waited with patience for three weeks to know what would be the probable worth of their claims, and they had a right to expect a full exhibit of the workings of the Bauk, which has been the means of ruining hundreds of innocent creditors. The money of many women and children, who are now almost if not quite penniless, has been ruthlessly squandered by the officers of the bank, who have lived sumptuously and in style; and to say that the bank has lost $78,173.31 as one item only of the losses as per profit and loss account, is not at all satisfactory. The exhibit shows that the Bank has received, and ought to have had on hand, at the time of its suspension, $347,499.46. This has all been squandered except the sum of $29,421.29, making a deficit of $318,078.17. This is the exhibit, taking Mr. Brenizer's statement as correct, and shows gross, culpable, inexcusable negligence or guilt, on the part of the officers of the Bank. It will not do for the President to say that he was ignorant of the condition of the Bank, for, as President, if he did not know, he ought to have known. The same reasoning will apply to the Assistant Cashier, and the public is left to the conclusion, drawn from Judge Shipp's exhibit, that the Bank has been a wild-cat concern, unworthy of confidence for several years, at least, and that fact must have been known to the officers of the Bank. To a very large extent, the prominent business men of Charlotte are responsible for bolstering up this festering and cankerous sore on the commercial interests of this community, by giving it credit and character, as an institution worthy of the confidence of the people, where none was deserved. It is true that very few of them lose anything, but by giving their countenance, they have deliberately stood by and seen innocent persons suffer, when by a word they could have prevented it.
## The Riot in Mississippi.
There was a serious riot at Clinton, Miss., last Saturday, between whites and negroes, who had assembled at a public speaking. The Vicksburg Herald gives the following as the true origin of the difficulty:
There is a law prohibiting the sale of liquor in Clinton. Some young men from Raymond brought a bottle with them, and while the speaking was going on, Martin Siveley and some of his friends went off a short distance to take a drink. The colored marshal for the occasion approached them and forbade their drinking. This order was not regarded, and when the marshal attempted to take the bottle out of Siveley's hand, Siveley struck him over the head with it. Senator Caldwell, colored, started to settle the difficulty, and was followed by some twenty negroes, whom he ordered back, but about one hundred more came rushing on. Some one then fired a shot, which was followed by a general firing and a stampede. Siveley fired all the barrels of his pistol, and the negroes then demanded his surrender. He surrendered and gave up his pistol, after which he was shot and his brains
